What is Giving Birth Really Like?

Are you expecting a baby in the next weeks? If so then you probably have lots of anxiety and worries regarding the impending birth. But try not to worry too much. Women have babies every day all over the world with some women have more than 2 or 3. So giving birth can’t be that bad if women are willing to go through it time and time again.

Some women sail through pregnancy without any problems and look and feel blooming marvellous. Other women struggle with just about every stage of pregnancy and hate the whole process. I believe a lot has to do with your frame of mind at the time. If you are happy and content with plenty of support then you should sail through your pregnancy. Obviously there are those who will struggle with morning sickness and back pain but overall it is a small price to pay for what you get at the end of it. Having a baby is the greatest joy that life bestows upon us humans.

Let me guess, you want to know about labor and the birth? Well I won’t mince my words, yes it does hurt and it hurts like nothing you could ever imagine. I have had two children; the first was by caesarean section and the other naturally. Many women are under the illusion that having a c-section is easier and less painful, well they are wrong. I would opt for a natural birth any time. However my c-section was an emergency one because my son was breach. At that time (early 90’s) they preferred you have try to have a normal birth and you certainly couldn’t opt for a c-section. I remember coming round from the operation with intense pain which I thought at the time was another contraction. As I opened my eyes and looked around I could see my baby in an incubator sleeping soundly next to me. This pain was the after pain from the operation and it was just as bad as the contractions only it didn’t get worse but just stayed the same. Once I was given pain relief the pain numbed a bit but it was still quite intense. Then there is the getting about. It is very painful to walk around, and coughing or sneezing was very painful. In comparison when I gave birth naturally to my second son the whole experience was a lot more relaxed. I had just one midwife compared to the 10’s of doctors and nurses who attending my breach birth. As soon as the baby was born the pain stopped immediately. There was no after pain except a slight stinging when going to the toilet. I was up and about the same day and felt completely fine, a much nicer experience on the whole. Also this may sound strange, but when you’re at the stage when the baby’s head moves into the vaginal opening and you are told to push as hard as you can, the actual pain you feel is pleasurable. Yes I said it, pleasurable. It is like scratching a really itchy itch or the feeling you get when pushing out a big poo! But even that doesn’t quite describe it. But it is really is pleasurable rather than painful. Then its over, the baby is out and all pain ceases.

These days you can opt for a c-section which I think is wrong. Have a caesarean is a major operation and should only be used when necessary. Women have been giving birth naturally since the beginning of time as this is how we are built. Luckily these days there are many different forms of pain killers, some more effective than others. Gas and oxygen (entonox) is inhaled through a mask or mouth piece. This doesn’t remove all the pain but it can make it more bearable. Unless you can predict when the next contraction comes it really is useless. When a contraction comes you breathe in the gas, then a few seconds or minutes later the effect takes place, which is normally when the contraction has passed. Also it just makes you feel “out of it” in your head, whereas the pain is down below! A much better form of pain relief is Pethidine. Pethidine is injected and can last for up to 4 hours. It is a type of relaxant and doesn’t really lessen the pain but just makes you relax which does help with the pain to some extent. The best form of pain relief is an epidural anaesthesia which is a special type of local anaesthetic which numbs the nerves which carry the feelings of pain from the birth canal to the brain. An epidural is normally given by an anaesthetist and is injected into the space between the bones in your spine through a thin tube. It takes around 20 minutes from the moment the anaesthetic is injected for it to work. You can then get it topped up whenever necessary as a thin tube is left in place.

Having had all of these pains relieves myself I can vouch that the best is Pethidine and Epidurals. Because my first child was born via an emergency s-section due to the baby being in breach position, I was advised to have an epidural for my second birth in case I had trouble and needed another c-section. Once you have an epidural set up it is very easy to pump a lot of anaesthetic into your body in preparation for a c-section.

Having a baby is painful, very painful, but easily forgotten. Giving birth is definitely the best experience you will ever have in your life. Once they are born the joy you get from watching them grow mature is like nothing you will ever experience again. Being a parent is one of the hardest jobs in the world but definitely the most fulfilling.